A Brief History Of Love
by reckless-deception
Summary: A place to neatly keep the growing collection of short Gail/Holly prompts I receive and fill on tumblr (will be updated sporadically whenever I fill a new prompt).
1. Prompt 1

**Anonymous asked:** They were supposed to be at their very first Peck family dinner, instead Traci and Holly find themselves spending the evening together and bonding over their troublesome but lovable Pecks.

* * *

Holly startles a little at the gentle knock just as she's sliding her arm into her jacket, and pauses with a tired sigh when she turns to see Traci leaning in the doorway to the lab.

"Please tell me you don't have evidence that needs examining right away," Holly says, glancing up at the clock and noting the late hour. "Because I have plans that involve curling up on my couch and devouring an entire bottle of wine to myself."

Traci shakes her head in response as she takes in dark circles lingering beneath Holly's usually bright eyes. "I actually came to see if you wanted to come and get some drinks with me," she says with a small smile.

Holly's brow furrows as she finishes shrugging into her jacket, picking up her bag as she asks, "Don't you have a certain family dinner to be at tonight?"

She knows she's got the right night, because across today's date on the calendar that hangs in her kitchen, scrawled in Gail's messy handwriting, the big bold lettering reads 'Peck Family Hell – Be Prepared!' followed by a little doodle of a heart. It's something that she's been meaning to strike out now that she and Gail are no longer together, but every time that she tries her eyes get drawn to that little heart doodle, and she finds her hand unwilling to move as her own heart lurches with deep sorrow.

Traci's mouth purses together as she shrugs back at her. "Let's just say that you're no longer alone in discovering that dating a Peck isn't such an easy feat."

"I'm sorry," Holly replies sincerely, offering Traci an emphatic smile.

Without missing a beat Traci mirrors her smile back at her. "I'm sorry too."

Holly stares back at her for a moment longer, an understanding of what it means to have life so suddenly filled with Peck snark, ego and charm, only to lose it all too quickly again, passing between them.

"So, Dr. Stewart, what do you say, drinks?" Traci repeats, raising her eyebrow questioningly.

"Best offer I've had for a long time," Holly confesses as she walks towards her. "Just anywhere but The Penny, okay?"

Traci's mouth opens a little like she's about to question Holly's request, but she just as quickly closes it and nods her head in agreement, and Holly knows then, as Traci briefly dodges her gaze, that word about what happened between her and Gail that night with her friends most definitely must have spread around 15 Division.

Holly feels her chest clench tightly, the air rushing from her lungs in a deep, weary exhale as that painful night plays over in her mind again. She doesn't realise that she's closed her eyes and stopped walking until she feels Traci rub comfortingly at her arm.

"Come on," Traci urges softly, her eyes empty of judgement and her small smile filled with understanding. "I know this little place that we can go; best beer and burgers you'll ever have, I promise."

Holly forces herself to smile back, appreciating Traci's unexpected but kind friendship, and even though her heart is aching and missing Gail more now than ever, she let's Traci link their arms together and lead them out of the lab.

* * *

Traci orders them shots of vodka when they first arrive, sliding three out of the six to Holly before downing hers in quick succession. She's never really been a fan of vodka – the smell of it always reminding her slightly of paint stripper – but it feels far too impolite to refuse Traci's generosity, so Holly follows Traci's lead and devours her own row, wincing at the burn that trails down her throat.

Within seconds of her placing the last of her shot glasses back down onto the bar, Traci is sliding a beer in front of her and reeling off their food orders to the barman. Holly flashes Traci a grateful smile and quickly takes a long sip of her beer, letting the bitter taste of it soothe away the lingering heat from the vodka.

She's never particularly found it easy to just talk to people she doesn't know all that well, always a little socially anxious and awkward – Holly blames it partly on spending hours alone surrounded by nothing but corpses for company – but somehow Traci makes this unexpected outing feel simple.

Conversation flows between them naturally, and it surprises Holly a little at just how different Traci is now that she's no longer in her all-business detective mode. She still gives off a strong, confident, independent vibe, but as Traci tells her a little about her life and Leo, Holly also gets to bear witness to the soft, warm, nurturing, maternal side of her that had made Gail describe Traci as the 'real grown-up' of the rookies.

As she listens to Traci talk and gets to know her a little, she realises why exactly Gail has always spoken so highly of her. Holly knows that Gail's respect and admiration for Traci has a lot to do with how hard working Traci is, but she also knows that Gail has a special, unconditional love for Traci that blossomed from their shared tragic experience of Ross Perrick, and the devastating loss of Detective Barber. For that reason alone, Holly knows that Gail will forever be loyal to and fiercely protective of Traci and Leo.

Knowing that suddenly makes Holly feel a little guilty, almost as if she's stealing one of the only friends Gail truly trusts and feels like she can talk to, away from her. And since Gail isn't going to be speaking to and confiding in her any more, Holly desperately wants Gail to have somebody she can depend on and turn to.

"This was really very nice, but I should probably get going," Holly voices quietly, offering Traci a small smile.

Traci reaches out and covers her hand, preventing Holly from standing before she even has a chance to think about pushing to her feet.

"Holly, Gail is my friend, and I know she'll always have my back, but this mess between me and Steve… it means Gail feels like she has to put her loyalty to her brother before her loyalty to me," Traci explains knowingly, easily able to read the reason for Holly's discomfort. "The Pecks always band together during times of crisis. So, trust me when I say that Gail won't be looking to confide in me about you while things between me and Steve are so conflicted."

Holly lets out a breath and relaxes back into her chair as she reaches up to rub tiredly at her eyes. "How did things get so messed up, so quickly, huh?"

"I honestly have no idea," Traci smiles back at her and shrugs. "They're complicated folk, the Pecks. I guess we just weren't prepared enough to handle them."

Holly laughs wryly in response. "You can say that again," she says as she adjusts her glasses. "I mean, I was fine before she came bursting into my life out of nowhere, and demanded all of my attention with her engaging sarcasm and her endearing bite, and her beautiful, life-ruining baby blues." Holly huffs, not meaning to rant but unable to hold it in any longer. "I was going about my day-to-day business just fine. I was good, and now… now I feel like there's this giant piece missing from my world and I don't know how to function without it."

Traci regards her carefully for a long, drawn out moment before saying, "I know it's really none of my business, especially since I don't know all of the details about why you and Gail broke up, but are you really seeing somebody else?"

Holly sucks her bottom lip into her mouth for a second before releasing it and nodding her head. "Yes," she breathes heavily. "My friend Rachel set me up, she thought she was helping me move on. And I thought I was, you know?" Holly follows on, staring at Traci helplessly as Gail's words about her being the most wonderful person she's ever met echo around inside her head. "I mean she's nice, this new woman I'm seeing. She's smart and sweet and a little nerdy like me. She should be perfect for me, but she's…"

She lets her unfinished sentence hang there as she shakes her head, her mind briefly drifting to Gwen. Her fiery red hair and kind smile, and her deep, royal blue eyes, that even when Holly squints and tries to pretend are just as beautiful still don't match the cool, captivating marble blue of Gail's.

"…but she's what?" Traci prompts softly, as Holly stops shaking her head and stares off over Traci's shoulder, her mind completely tangled in her messy of thoughts.

Holly lets her eyes flicker slowly to Traci's and shrugs hopelessly. "She's not Gail," she murmurs sadly, her heart heavy and aching in her chest.

"You're still not over her," Traci states emphatically, her mouth twisting into up into a small, understanding smile.

Holly releases a deep, ragged, breath and shakes her head. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"The Pecks certainty know how to mess with our heads, that's for sure," Traci sympathises.

Holly presses her mouth together in a thin, sad smile. "What are you going to do about Steve?"

"I have no idea," Traci breathes with a little laugh, and then just as quickly her smile falters. "Leo is already starting to ask why Steve hasn't come around, and I don't know how to explain it to him. I don't know how to tell Steve that I get that he meant well but that Dex is Leo's father. He might be a pain in my ass, and he might be trying to fight me on custody for Leo, but at least we're both still here for Leo when he needs us. Dex being in jail… I don't want that for Leo. He deserves to have both of his parents in his life. He adores his father more than anything, and despite everything, Dex is actually a good dad."

Holly nods, understanding Traci's dilemma entirely. "You have to put your son first," she says in agreement.

"Yeah," Traci replies. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want Steve or his input. I just wish he would have come to me and talked to me first. At least then I could have tried to make him understand."

Holly lets out a small, wry breath. "At least now we know that their lack of communication skills really is genetic. Why do they have to be so damn stupid?"

Traci smiles knowingly back at her. "They wouldn't be them if they weren't so infuriating."

"Infuriatingly charming," Holly adds sadly, remembering the way Gail's lips would always twist into a devilish smirk, her eyes glimmering with mischief as they bantered back and forth, and the way that little smirk would just as quickly reveal her beautiful smile whenever Holly would kiss away her smugness. "God, I miss her."

"I miss Steve too," Traci confesses, her eyes falling down to her watch. "I wonder how the Peck family dinner is playing out."

"Given how much Gail protested when her mother demanded it, and how much she tried to prepare me for it, horribly I should think," Holly says quietly, a wave of sadness crashing over her as she imagines Gail facing her parents, and dealing with her coming out alone. She should have been there with her. For her. "I know I should probably be relieved that I'm not currently having my credentials over-analysed and questioned by Superintendent and Inspector Peck, but I really wish I was there with her, supporting her," Holly huffs, releasing a weary exhale and slamming her glass down on the table in frustration. "If she'd just let me apologise, I would have been there."

"I think Gail knows that," Traci says reassuringly as she sets her own glass down and offers Holly a gentle smile. "And I think deep down, Steve knows that I would have still gone if he'd just asked me to go." The barman comes over to collect their empty glasses, and Traci stands to pull on her jacket as Holly does the same. "And who knows, maybe one day, our loving, idiot Pecks will find their way back to us, and we'll get invited to a Peck family dinner again, and then we'll both finally get our chance to be there, with them, and for them."

Holly smiles softly in return, wanting nothing more. "I hope so," she says longingly. "I truly hope so."


	2. Prompt 2

**recklessly-indulgent asked:** Prompt: One of the girls gets sentenced to sleep on the couch, only for the other to climb on the couch too because she can't go to sleep angry.

* * *

Really, when Gail thinks about it, this was all Steve and Traci's fault. They'd been the ones who had bought that big house with a big yard and promised Leo that he could have a dog.

And they were the ones who had asked her to take Leo to the animal shelter to choose a stupid mutt while they started unpacking.

So considering the facts, Gail doesn't think it's fair that she's the one being punished. She'd done exactly what she had promised Steve and Traci she would do. She'd let Leo look around and spend time with the dogs, and she'd steered him away from a Saint Bernard because she knew Steve had an irrational fear of the movie Beethoven.

She'd returned Leo home, safe and sound, and happily clutching the lead of a 7 month old black Labrador that Leo had opted to call Oreo after the slobbery pup had stolen the cookie – of the same name of course – straight from Gail's hand, making her scowl unhappily while Leo laughed around a mouthful of his own in amusement.

Steve and Traci had fallen in love with the brown-eyed cookie thief the moment they'd set eyes on him, and Gail had classed the whole thing as a job well done.

She doesn't think that it's fair therefore, that she's been banished to sleep on the couch.

Gail huffs grumpily into the darkness as she fluffs the cushion beneath her head, desperately trying to get comfortable. The patchwork-blanket Holly had thrown angrily her way before disappearing to their bedroom, getting tangled around her legs as she rolls over onto her side.

She let's her arm dangle over the edge of the couch, her hand instantly reaching out to gently stroke against soft, ruffled fur.

Okay, so maybe Holly does have a right to be a little mad at her, Gail relents as a loud snore echoes around the room.

Gail doesn't think she can be blamed too much, she's not even a dog person really, never having had one while she was growing up, and she didn't leave the house that morning with the intention of bringing a dog home with her, it just sort of happened.

She was more than happy to just sit back and let Leo interact with the dogs while he decided which one would become his. It's not her fault that this sad looking Golden Retriever had stealthily padded up to her and rested his head on her knee. And it's not Gail's fault that he stared up at her with his sweet, chocolate brown eyes that rapidly filled with increasing adoration when she reluctantly scratched at his ears.

Really, Gail concludes, it's the lady at the shelter's fault. She'd been the one to witness Gail and Snoopy sharing a moment, and she'd been the one who told Gail that Snoopy's owner had died 6 months ago and that the dog had seemed depressed ever since, completely uninterested in playing with the other dogs or seeking out human interaction.

How after hearing that sob story, was she supposed to just walk away and leave the damn dog behind when he stared after her as she got up to leave and whined longingly?

Gail hadn't intended to come home with a dog, but she had, and she thought Holly, lover of all the animals in the kingdom, would have been happy with her noble rescue of a sad, abandoned dog.

Holly's wide eyes and disbelieving frown when she'd gotten home to find Gail and Snoopy sitting on the couch together watching The Hangover had proved otherwise though.

Apparently, them having a pet was fine. What wasn't fine was their lack of discussion about the possibility and Gail's choice to go ahead and commit to bringing a dog into their family before discussing it with Holly first.

And perhaps her petulant, unapologetic response to Holly's yelling had played a part in her current predicament, but Gail had seen the way Holly's eyes had softened momentarily when Snoopy brushed affectionately against her legs and licked at her hand, and so she couldn't really help that her mouth had twisted into a smug smirk

"Pretend to be mad at me all that you want, Lunchbox, but I can see your heart filling with love for him already," Gail had teased from her stretched out position on the couch. "We're Snoopy Stewart's new wolf-pack," she added, trying to be cute as Snoopy returned to her and climbed back up onto the couch to curl up at her feet. "Come over here and cuddle with us like I know you want to."

Holly's eyes had narrowed in response and she'd let out a deep, measured exhale. "You know what, I don't think there's enough room for all three of us on the couch, and since he chose you to be part of his wolf-pack first, I think it's only right that you sleep out here with him on the couch tonight. You can snuggle up together and keep each other warm."

The smirk had fallen from Gail's face quickly then when she realised Holly was serious, and her protests about how the dog would be fine sleeping on the couch alone had been rebuffed with a firm, "But look how much he loves you, Gail. You're part of his wolf-pack, you can't just ditch him. I don't mind sacrificing my Gail-cuddle-time so that Snoopy can get his instead. It's so important to make him feel at home here with us, don't you think?" Holly asked sternly, raising her eyebrow pointedly in the way that always made Gail shrink into herself and nod in defeat.

And so that is how Gail Peck has found herself banished to spending her first night ever sleeping on the couch.

She hasn't slept without the soothing warmth of Holly's body pressed against her back and lulling her to sleep in forever, and as she lets out another long, irritated huff, and pulls the blanket tighter around herself, shivering a little against the cold, she's suddenly reminded of why sleeping alone sucks.

Gail listens to Snoopy's snores for a few minutes longer, contemplating how angry Holly would be if she crept into their room and tried to apologise at this late hour. But just as she's seriously considering getting up to grovel, she hears the soft pitter-patter of familiar footsteps creaking down the stairs.

Moments later, Holly is climbing onto the couch and shuffling into the space Gail eagerly makes for her. She doesn't say anything as she tangles their legs together and curls her arm around Gail's waist, tugging her body impossibly closer, and Gail can feel the tension leaving Holly's body as she slowly relaxes against her own.

"I'm sorry I didn't check in with you and get your okay before getting the dog," Gail whispers into the dark, trailing her fingertips up and down the arm Holly has wrapped around her. "It was an ass move."

"It was an ass move," Holly murmurs back, and Gail feels her eyes flutter closed at the sweet sensation of Holly's soft, warm breath ghosting against the nape of her neck as she cuddles even closer.

"I know. I'm sorry," Gail repeats, sliding her fingers between Holly's and drawing their entwined hands to rest against her chest. "I can take him back tomorrow if you wa-"

"No," Holly cuts her off in a rushed whisper, pausing for a second as another of Snoopy's sporadic snores fills the room. "You said it yourself earlier, we're Snoopy Stewart's new wolf-pack. We're not going to abandon him." Gail smiles into the darkness and lifts Holly's hand up to her mouth to dust a loving kiss against her knuckles. "There's only one problem," Holly continues, nuzzling her nose against Gail's shoulder. "You keep calling us a wolf-pack, and I'm a Stewart, and Snoopy's a Stewart, but you're not."

Gail feels her brow furrow in confusion as Holly loosen her grip on her, and she immediately turns in Holly's arms to seek out her eyes in the darkness. She watches in confusion as Holly reaches into the pocket of her pyjama bottom pants and pulls something out, and then she feels her eyes widening in understanding as Holly takes her left hand and slips a ring onto her finger.

"If we're going to be a proper family, I think it's only right that you're a Stewart too, don't you?" Holly asks with a beautiful smile that steals Gail's breath away, her eyes suddenly prickling with overwhelmingly happy tears. "So, Gail Peck, will you marry me and officially join my wolf-pack?"

Gail laughs in response and presses forward to kiss Holly desperately. "You're such a nerd, Lunchbox."

"Is that a yes?" Holly prompts, smiling knowingly.

"Yes, of course it's a yes," Gail hums against Holly's lips as she kisses her deeply again.

It feels kind of fitting then as Snoopy hops up onto the couch with them, curling up over their feet and nuzzling his head affectionately against their legs until they both reach down to scratch at his ears.

(Gail tries not to smirk smugly the next night when Holly leads Snoopy into their bedroom and encourages him to jump up on the end of their bed, and as they all snuggle down together and begin to drift off peacefully, Gail knows that Holly loves being part of the Stewart wolf-pack just as much as she does).


	3. Prompt 3

**Drinkingcristinastequila:** AU where Holly had to do the autopsy on Ford and wasn't there to fix Gail's hair so she had to show up at work the next day with her 90's punk rock lawn mower cut.

* * *

Holly rubs tiredly at her eyes and lifts her hand up to her mouth to stifle a yawn that's broken only by the gentle rattling of knuckles against her office door. Working throughout the night to get the Kevin Ford autopsy completed as quickly as possible for 15 division has left Holly more than a little exhausted, and she knows her eyes are heavy and weary, but she's not sure they're weary enough to be seeing Gail standing in her doorway, at this unbelievably early hour, with her usually long and beautiful blonde tresses butchered at crazy, weird angles.

"I kind of, maybe, accidentally stumbled into a drunken Gail with scissors situation," Gail says sheepishly, her eyes flicking away from Holly's almost immediately as she shifts awkwardly from foot to foot.

Holly forces her shocked, open mouth to close and clears her throat to try and regain her composure. "I can see that," Holly replies, her eyes still taking in the mess Gail has made for herself. "Why would you...?"

"Feelings," Gail responds without missing a beat, lifting her eyes back up to Holly's and shrugging. "It was a long day. A difficult day, and I just... I wanted to go back, you know?" Holly nods slowly, reading between the lines of Peck-speak. "Back before everything turned to shit, and I just freaked out and..." Gail trails off, gesturing at her hair with finger-scissors. "...snip, snip, snip."

Holly pushes herself up from her desk chair and steps tentatively towards Gail, offering her a small smile. "It's very 90s punk rocker meets lawn mower attack," Holly quips, reaching out to run her fingers through the choppy edges that remain, and watching as Gail's mouth twists into a scowl momentarily before she breaks out into a smile and playfully shoves Holly away from her.

"You're an ass, Lunchbox," Gail fires back through a painfully amused breath. "I came to you for help and you wound me further by mocking me? Where's your loyalty to your '_do no harm_' doctor oath?"

"It's the Hippocratic oath," Holly corrects with a smirk that makes Gail roll her eyes, and reaches for Gail again, tugging at Gail's arm until she stops resisting and relents enough to let Holly have a proper look at the hack job she's created. "What exactly did you think I'd be able to do about this?" Holly asks as she assesses the extent of the damage done.

Gail shrugs back at her. "I dunno, you're a doctor, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

She says it with a small smile but Holly can see the panic and vulnerability lingering beneath the cool blue of her normally calm eyes. She's come to Holly because she trusts her to put things right, and so that's exactly what Holly will try her best to do.

"I've only ever cut hair when I need to get a proper look at a corpse's skull, and even then that's mostly just shaving a piece of hair away," Holly admits and then feels her brow furrow when she realises that's not a very reassuring comment.

Gail scrunches her face up in amusement and then raises her eyebrow pointedly at her. "Just don't make me completely bald and everything will be fine."

Holly lets out a deep breath in response. "Okay, I'll try not to maim you any more then you already are," she says, taking Gail's hand in her own and leading her out of her office and into the lab. She pats the vacant autopsy table, signalling for Gail to take a seat.

"Really?" Gail retorts. "You want me to sit on the dead people table while we do this? So gross."

Holly stares warningly back at her. "Do you want to wait a few more hours until the hair salons open or do you want me to do this now?"

"I want you to do it now," Gail mumbles in response, lowering her gaze and pouting in a way that is so petulant and so cute that Holly feels her heart melting at the sight of it.

"I'm sorry," she says, walking back towards Gail and touching her cheek gently so that Gail looks back at her. "It's just... it's been a long night, you know?"

Gail nods, and points at her hair again. "Yeah, I know," she echoes quietly, turning her face to kiss Holly's palm. "Thank you for helping me."

"Don't thank me yet," Holly replies as Gail pulls herself up onto the autopsy table and stares back at Holly affectionately. "I could make it worse," she breathes as she steps between Gail's knees, scissors clutched tightly in her hand.

"You won't," Gail murmurs back softly, reaching out to pull Holly's hand between her own and gently unwinding her tight hold around the scissors. "You always make everything better," she confesses quietly as she holds Holly's gaze, reassuring her. "I trust you."

Holly shudders at the gentle admission and nods her head resolutely, accepting the scissors back from Gail, and holding her eyes for a second longer before turning Gail's face slightly to the side as she makes her first cut.

Twenty minutes later Holly sets the scissors down and lifts her hands to brush the chopped strands of hair from Gail's shoulders, blowing gently across the back of her neck to make sure she removes as much of it as she can.

Gail shivers beneath her hands as she does so, her breath catching audibly in her throat and making her turn her head to find Holly's eyes. If Holly wasn't such a scientist she would swear she could physically see the sparks passing between them, but before she has much time to process her silly line of thought, Gail is spinning to face her fully, and the only thing that suddenly matters is Gail's lips pressing forward to search out her own.

The kiss is soft and gentle, and unbearably sweet in its lingering exploration. Holly feels her head spin as Gail pulls back slowly, her eyes wide and a little unsure as she stares back desperately at Holly for answers.

Holly smiles adoringly back at her and responds by giving her answer the only way she knows how; by drawing Gail in and kissing her again and again and again until she feels Gail melting into her, utterly convinced by her reply.


End file.
